


Asking for a Blessing

by Lady Aconite (LadyAconiteWolfe)



Series: Fire Emblem Gen Week [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Day 2, Gen, buff Rhea, fegenweek, heart to heart, high key terrifying mom Rhea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-07 08:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20306632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAconiteWolfe/pseuds/Lady%20Aconite
Summary: Before Jeralt could think of asking out the girl of his dreams, let alone getting any farther than friendship, there was a rather terrifying dragon of woman he'd need to go through first. Unfortunately, that woman just so happened to be the Archbishop. Lucky Jeralt.





	Asking for a Blessing

**Author's Note:**

> Gen Week Day 2: Flowers/Dreams

Before Jeralt was the most world renown Knight of Seiros he'd been a mercenary. It was a simple fact that most people glazed over because other than his combat style it didn't really meant much. He'd proven his loyalty to Lady Rhea time and time again, frequently enough that people could discreetly forget about his less than scrupulous past. 

This fact, however, was something that fairly often came back to haunt Jeralt himself. He wasn't always the most poised of all the knights in the order. He was respected sure, but he was gruff at best and didn't know how to act in social settings. He didn't know how to talk to a lord, he couldn't even begin to figure out why nobles should be respected so much, and he had no clue how to talk to women. Flirting seemed to be the bane of his existence. 

And that was something that was currently coming back to haunt him fiercely. 

Chronitza was a beautiful woman from the moment Jeralt first saw her. All warm smiles and a sunny disposition. If love at first sight actually existed then Jeralt had fallen in love with her hard. 

There was just one fairly big problem aside from his own inexperience with flirting. Chronitza just so happened to be the daughter of the Archbishop. You know. His boss. The woman who once threw him to the ground without a second glance with seemingly no effort when Jeralt made terrible mistakes. The same woman who for all her kindness and warmth expected of someone in her position had the personality of a feral dragon bubbling just beneath the surface. If he ever wanted to so much as ask Chronitza out on a date, let alone half the other things he always wanted to do with her (marriage you idiots, get your heads out of the gutter), then he'd need to do the impossible and go through Rhea first. 

He has to admit, this is the one mission he's ever embarked upon that's terrified him. 

He approached her room with a healthy dose of caution mixed with paralyzing fear. "My lady," he announced his presence to the open door way doing his best to keep the fear out of his voice. Luckily that was one skill practiced enough that now the few things left which scare him can easily be downplayed. 

The archbishop, currently browsing a bookshelf at her leisure, turned towards the door with a curious glance. "Oh? Jeralt? Is something the matter, you seem deeply troubled," Rhea's concern only made Jeralt feel all the more fidgety as he looked at his archbishop. 

"Before I start, a peace offering," he blurted out, pulling a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back and setting them down on the ground in front of Rhea before taking a couple exceptionally large steps backwards. Close to the door. He didn't want to be within arm reach of a woman who could probably bench press him. He saw her workout regimen once. The size of those weight... her fucking abs.... he still shivered thinking about the fact she could probably crush him with less effort than it took to leave him alive after beating him senseless. 

Rhea was no fool either. Her eyes instantly narrowed, giving him the same evil eye she'd given him moments before the first time she demolished him for getting a little too friendly with her daughter when jeralt himself was a relatively new recruit. Jeralt wasn't new anymore, and he was certainly a better friend with Rhea. That didn't make him feel any better. "Jeralt, what is this about?"

"I'd like permission ma'am, to court your daughter," he said. He would have expected the room to get colder after such a statement, but the suddenly charge air felt hotter. Like a giant fire breathing beast was suddenly breathing over his shoulder. A demon. He was being haunted by a demon for so much as thinking about wooing a holy woman. That being said, there were no rules against it. No church rules. The rules Rhea could instill as the woman's mother were a different matter entirely. 

Again he was reminded of how often he compared her to a dragon as she took long strides towards him, carefully stepping around his peace offering. 

_We've got trouble._

"Court my daughter?" Rhea parroted, closing all of the safety distance Jeralt had put between himself and the woman. "Why exactly, what kind of plans are in that head of yours. I surely hope you don't intend-"

"Nothing bad I swear it! She's... too precious for that," Jeralt said quietly, turning his gaze away from the archbishop. Apparently something in his gaze softened the heart of the woman as her posture relaxed slightly and she took a step back. Jeralt knew well enough that he wasn't out of the woods yet. 

"Jeralt, why don't you sit down," she said, motioning to a table in the corner of the room. A corner where his only escape would be out the window should the archbishop find anything less than pleasing in whatever she was about to grill him about. Jeralt gulped and quickly did as commanded. Rhea followed with endless amounts of grace and poise, taking the seat opposite from his. This was how they usually sat. They often talked about the state of affairs over tea. Anything from news regarding the great powers of the continent to the state of affairs within the order itself. 

Jeralt had never believed in gods before this. He hadn't stayed in these lands his whole life and because of that he'd been exposed to legends about a great many gods who helped to forge the world. He hadn't believed in a single one. But the way Rhea spoke and acted almost convinced him. Almost. Perhaps if he married a nun she'd make a holy man out of him yet. 

15-year-old Jeralt would have been utterly appalled. 

"So you came to me asking for the permission to court my daughter," she said. A tea pot seemed to appear out of thin air, the same spiced scent of chain wafting through the stagnant air. This was what they always drank, but somehow the scent felt remarkably more bitter given the atmosphere. Not to mention he was sweating far too much under his collar to think about drinking something with spiced in the name. "I'll admit, most don't try to ask permission. Very noble of you. And very brave."

Rhea's word made Jeralt shiver. Whether he believed in the gods or not, he had a feeling if he didn't step very carefully through the rest of this conversation he was about to meet with the Goddess here pretty quickly. 

She could make it look like an accident too. 

In spite of how terrifying the situation was, Jeralt did recognize the flashing of her gaze. It was protective. Maternal. Regardless of the kind of woman Rhea was, there was no doubt that she loved her daughter fully. She always seemed more mellow and happy around Chronitza, doting on her like any mother would, acting in ways that weren't entirely befitting of an archbishop. If there was one thing that Jeralt could say with utmost confidence, it was that she loved her family before all else. 

Which terrified Jeralt all the more. There was nothing scarier in his experience than an angry mother. Regardless of the type of animal, no matter the odds, a rage filled mother fought like no soldier or wild beast could. 

When he lifted his newly filled cup of tea to his lips he swallowed a little too hard. 

"Might I ask why you wish to court my daughter of every single woman in this monastery?" She asked, eyes narrowed dangerously at the man sitting across from her. 

"Well..." Jeralt trailed off, trying to get his words in the right order. "Because I felt in love with her. Everything about her. But it would be rude of me to try anything without first speaking to you. Rude in a multitude of ways, so here I am. Don't get me wrong either. I'm not asking as your knight. Regardless of your answer I intend to stay. I'm asking as your friend." 

Rhea regarded him silently for a long time. The ways her eyes pierced into him, he felt like his very soul was being looked into. Eventually, she spoke, tone measured if not still a little dangerous. "When I was younger I dreamed of seeing my mother again. She was taken from me at a very young age, by a very terrible man. All I ever wanted was to see her again. That precious dream of mine, it lives on in the daughter who reminds me of my mother a little bit more every day. But never quite enough. In spite of my dream, this daughter of mine without a question is exceedingly important to me. She is the only child of mine who has lived, she is my last. She will probably be my final. Jeralt, if you are to marry her I need to know she's in good hands. So tell me, what's your dream?" 

The question was a bit open ended, but Jeralt got the general idea of what she was probing for. He didn't see any reason not to be honest. 

"I dream of a family. A wife and a pair of little tykes running around the monastery. Heh, maybe even twins. A stable home and happy smiles. I dream of nothing more than family. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but with every breath in my body I swear to you that I would make Chronitza happy, and if she spurned me in honest I would never bother her again. So please, Rhea, give me the blessing to at least try," Jeralt made his honest plea to the archbishop. His best friend. His would be mother in law if everything doesn't go terribly wrong in these last 10 minutes. 

Rhea once again scrutinized him before seemingly coming to a decision, a dangerous flicker going off in the back of her eyes. jeralt assumed it was the urge to kill him, though he might have been wrong. 

"Very well, my dearest friend. You risked my life for me when I was still a stranger to you. I can at least rest assured you'd do the same for my precious one. Perhaps it wouldn't be too terrible to call you my son in law. Or to be called a grandmother," Rhea's expression almost instantly softened as though she'd been handed something she'd wanted for a very long time. 

Did... she want him to try and approach her? Then what was the damn hazing for!? Jeralt figured it was better to brush it offer. He'd... he'd just gotten her blessing! "Thank you," he said, standing up a little too quickly. He nearly knocked over his tea cup which had been resting precariously on the edge of the table. He managed to save it, but a light burning for his trouble. Rhea just gave a bemused as the usually composed knight fumbled. Truly, it wasn't like him. "Thank you so, so very much. I'm going to go ask her now!" It was hard to keep himself from bolting out of the door for... multiple reason, to put it lightly. 

"Cherry blossoms and roses," Rhea's voice suddenly cut in just as Jeralt was about to flee. He gave her a puzzled look. "Her favorite flowers. Cherry blossoms and roses," the archbishop tried not to laugh at the man once more as he recovered from his confusion. She stood up to see him out of the room in his quest, the smile never leaving her face. 

Jeralt made a mental note of that. He had no idea where he'd get cherry blossoms at this time of year, but roses were doable thanks to the greenhouse. He knew a couple of the caretakers in there and they owned him some favors. "Thank you, thank you," he said a couple more times. Rhea rolled her eyes, pulling the idiot of a knight into a very lose hug. Jeralt obviously stiffened up like a board, but it was deeply amusing to Rhea, hence why she tended to do it to him. Not only that, but terrifying, as one of her hugs could quickly turn into a suplex knowing the kind of strength Rhea had. 

Thankfully it didn't and she let go quickly enough. Jeralt was quick to make his escape, though out of the corner of his eye he noted Rhea retrieving the flowers which had been abandoned as a peace offering. Cherry blossoms and roses. 

He wondered if it would be weird, when Rhea became his mother in law. Nah. He trusted the woman more than anyone else in the world. She might as well have already been his family. This would just make it... a bit more official. Those crazy and almost childish dreams to have a family almost felt like they were resting at the tips of his fingers now. 

Into the unknown he charged, blindly trusting his closest friend. 

**Author's Note:**

> The name given to Byleth's mother, Chronitza, is inspired by Chronos. Since it's my own personal belief Sothis is first and foremost a Goddess of time (indicative of the powers she gives to Byleth) I feel Rhea probably would have named the would be host after something to do with time.


End file.
